


Never Let Go

by LeelaSmall



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Bullying, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Ponysona, based on real experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 08:30:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21241175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeelaSmall/pseuds/LeelaSmall
Summary: After dealing with some bullies who rendered her hopelessly lonely, a young Pegasus filly gains a new best friend. But can that friendship turn into something more as they grow up? OC (my ponysona) x OC two-shot. First chapter was based on a true story. [Original publish date: July 14, 2014]





	1. The Start of a Beautiful Friendship

"GIVE HIM BACK!"

She jumped back and forth as she desperately tried to grab hold of her precious childhood friend, disdainful laughter raining down upon her. As much as she tried her tiny forelegs couldn't reach the object. She felt completely useless; she just wanted her white and green dog plushie back so she could go on with her life, but some ponies had other plans for the young plum-purple Pegasus.

As her toy was again thrown in the opposite direction, she attempted to move a little quicker as she turned around, which resulted in her tripping on her own hind legs and fall flat on her stomach, her chin hitting the hard playground floor and lifting clouds of dust around her. Trying to fight the tears that were emerging, she looked up to see the filly in front of her, who had her plushie resting on her back.

"If you want your toy back so badly, why don't you just fly up and grab it?" asked the pale-green earth filly with a flick of her curly reddish-brown mane. She then took a hoof to her cheek and faked a surprised expression. "Oh, that's right! You can't!"

"You're such a looser!" commented the yellow colt behind her. "I mean, what kind of Pegasus gets her cutie mark before she learns how to fly?"

"And it's a stupid one, too! Really, a pencil? Is that your talent, drawing? It's pathetic, just like you!"

Rising her sore head from the ground, she glanced over at the filly and the colt's cutie marks, a lemon and a skateboard, respectively. Hers wasn't any more pathetic then theirs.

"Everything about you is stupid! Even your name! What kind of parents name their kid Sketchy Shadow?" asked the colt as he drew his messy black mane away from his eyes.

"Admit it, Sketchy. You're completely useless." added the filly, who stuck out her tongue at her.

"No, I'm not!" grunted Sketchy as she rose up and tried to nab her toy away from the filly, who quickly threw it back to the colt.

"You're useless!" she scoffed at her.

"And stupid!" added the colt, wiggling his flank to show her toy sitting on it.

"And you know what we call ponies who are stupid and useless?" she moved closer, glaring at her in an intimidating manner.

"A mule!" exclaimed the colt as he also closed in on her.

They started chanting the word 'mule' over and over again, inching closer every time they repeated it. Sketchy squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears, but that only resulted in them raising their voices, making sure she heard them.

She couldn't take it. Why wouldn't they just her leave her alone? What had she done to deserve this? Unable to stand their hurtful name-calling, she finally gave in to her tears and started sobbing loudly, which only resulted in them laughing at her misery.

"Leave her alone!"

Sniffing and rubbing her wet cheeks, Sketchy opened her eyes and raised her head, only to see that the bullies were looking to their left. Following their gazes, she discovered who had called out to them: a white unicorn colt with a bright orange mane and glasses with royal-blue frames which seemed to be a little too big for him. His cutie mark seemed to be some sort of symbol, but due to her distance and the fact that her eyes were still wet, she couldn't really make out what it was. He was glaring angrily at the ponies who were bothering her, who in return were clearly unimpressed.

"Oh look, it's the nerd." the filly chuckled as she rolled her eyes.

"The name is Mylar." retorted the white colt as he valiantly took a step forward and adjusted his glasses atop his muzzle. "I want you to give that filly her toy back, right now!"

"Why should we?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?" asked the yellow colt, who still had the plushie resting on his back.

"For one, I don't like it when poor defenseless ponies are picked on. It's not fair! And secondly…" the unicorn narrowed his eyes, trying to look as menacing as he could. "…don't think I'm afraid to tell on you."

"Yeah, right! Like you'd have the guts." replied the filly, trying to match his facial expression.

"Just try me."

Neither of them moved as they glared at each other, eager to see who would give in first. Sketchy looked from the white colt to the green filly, eventually glancing over at the yellow colt, who seemed clueless on how to react. After a long moment of silence the filly let out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine…" she groaned, turning to her companion. "Give Sketchy her toy back, Jaywalk."

He gave a single nod and bent his hind legs to enable the Pegasus to grab her toy. She smiled and reached for her beloved plushie, when suddenly the colt threw the lower half of his body into the air and hurled the toy in the filly's direction, who bucked it and sent it flying over the metal fence that separated the playground from a deep cliff.

"GEORGIE!" the Pegasus exclaimed desperately as she ran towards the fence, looking down to spot her plushie, which was now nowhere in sight. She started crying again as she heard her bullies laugh at her once more.

They walked pass Mylar, who glared daggers at them as they chuckled almost uncontrollably. The white unicorn looked over at the Pegasus filly, hearing her sob as she clutched the fence with both her hooves. He slowly trotted up to her, carefully choosing his words.

"Hey, I-I'm…" he cleared his throat before continuing. "I'm sorry about your toy."

"He was my only friend…" she whispered, her voice a bit raspy from crying. "…and now he's gone…"

"Don't worry, I'll be your friend." he beamed at her, hoping that would lift her spirits.

"No, you won't."

"Huh?"

"Everypony who's ever been my friend ended up leaving me. My best friend did it, and now she hates me."

"Why would you say that?"

"You just saw her bullying me."

"Jhambiri was your best friend?!" he exclaimed a little louder than he should.

"Uh-huh. We used to be so close… but I guess she just got tired of hanging with the weirdo." she sighed sadly and let her forelegs drop to her sides. "Now she's joined forces with Jaywalk… and they've been tormenting me ever since. And now that Georgie's gone… I'm all alone."

She turned around and started walking in Mylar's direction, hanging her head and avoiding eye contact. Just as she was about to pass the unicorn he stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"Can you please move?" she asked as she kept staring at the ground beneath her. "I just wanna go home…"

"No. I can't stand to see you like this. You need a friend, and I can be just that.

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not. I'm serious. I really wanna be your friend. Trust me."

She raised her head to meet his gaze, and she saw kindness and sincerity in his eyes. She could see he was telling the truth, which left her intrigued. Who was this strange colt who was suddenly offering his friendship to her?

She took a moment to examine him from top to bottom, studying every detail about him. Now that she was face to face with him, she could see his eyes were roughly the same shade of blue as the frames of his glasses. She also saw what his cutie mark really was, a small smile appearing on her muzzle as she looked at his flank.

"Your cutie mark is a pi?" she asked, catching Mylar by surprise.

"Yeah." his smile grew wider. "I'm impressed! Most ponies don't understand what that symbol is! Usually they think it's some kind of weird table doodle."

"I like math too. I'm actually pretty good at it."

"Then I guess we have something in common."

She let out a low giggle, which made him happy. He was glad he was able to cheer her up. They silently looked at each other for a while, his blue eyes looking into her puffy green ones, the two feeling completely comfortable in each other's company.

"You really wanna be my friend?" asked Sketchy, a glimmer of hope lighting up inside of her.

"Yeah, I do." Mylar replied.

"Aren't you afraid you'll be picked on for being seen with me, the filly everypony calls 'the weirdo'?"

"I'm not exactly Mr. Popular myself." he chuckled, causing her to giggle as well. "Besides, I don't think you're a weirdo. I actually think you're kind of cool!"

Sketchy's smile widened and her eyes sparkled with joy. Never in her life had a pony called her cool, and now there was somepony who actually thought that. That day wasn't turning out to be so bad, after all.

"Well, then let's make a pact, right here and now, to be best friends forever!"

She stuck out her hoof, waiting for the colt to grab it and shake it, but all he did was stare at it. Her smile died as she realized she might have taken it too far.

"Too weird?" she asked sadly as she slowly lowered her foreleg, but to her surprise he held her hoof in his and raised it again.

"I don't like the word 'weird'. I prefer 'original'." he gave two shakes and released her hoof. "Best friends forever."

Sketchy Shadow grinned widely, as wide as she ever had. She almost couldn't believe she actually had a friend. No, not a friend; a BEST friend.

Unable to control her joy and herself, she threw herself at Mylar and hugged him tightly. The colt was a bit taken aback by her impulsive move, but immediately returned the embrace, smiling as he felt her warmth.

"Thank you…" she whispered as she felt her eyes start to tear up again.

"Don't mention it." he whispered in return.

"Please promise me… you'll never let me go…"

"Don't worry…" he tightened his grasp around her. "I'll never let go."


	2. The Beginning of a Wonderful Romance

Mylar and Sketchy Shadow grew up to be the best of friends. They were extremely close and had a lot more in common than they expected. They were both into comic books, superheroes, videogames, and loads of other things. They both loved to learn and had good grades, sometimes even going to the point of taking on a little healthy competition to see who was smarter. Mylar always won, but Sketchy was never too far behind. They shared everything, including secrets. Mylar told her he had been born without depth perception, being the reason why he had to wear glasses, and Sketchy told him her most private secret, one she had never shared with anypony else.

As they went through the painful transition from foals to grown ponies, their friendship never withered. If anything, it became stronger. During their teen years they overheard there was going to be a party right there in Caneighda thrown by a strange pony named Cheese Sandwich. They were told he was really good at his job, and after attending said party, they became great fans of his. After learning a little more about him, they found out he was so amazing that they were proud to call themselves his biggest fans. They were completely hooked.

As they continued to grow up, they both focused in developing their special talents. Sketchy turned out to be a really great artist, specializing in more cartoon-like drawings. She had the dream of becoming a cartoonist and creating her own comic book series, practicing every time she had the chance. Mylar was more focused in knowledge itself, wanting to become a teacher or a college professor. Despite not wanting to dedicate his time to magic, unlike other unicorns, he still took some time to learn some basic spells that he knew would make his life easier, such as teleportation and levitation.

When they finished High School, they both applied to the same college: Vanhoover University. They managed to get in, each of them taking the course that best involved their talents: Sketchy took Art and Mylar took Mathematics. Despite their different areas, they chose to take Advanced Algebra together, seeing as they were both great at it.

"Now, I want you all to solve the following equation. Afterwards you'll have to come up and show the class how you did it, so I don't want to see anypony with an empty sheet."

Loud annoyed groans echoed through the room as the Advanced Algebra professor stood aside to let his students see the rather difficult equation he had written on the board. Most of the students were either banging their heads against their desks or hiding their faces behind their hooves in despair, but on the far corner of the room a plum-purple Pegasus mare with a wavy chocolate-brown mane and a white unicorn stallion with a bright orange mane and royal-blue glasses were actually smiling.

"That doesn't seem too bad." Mylar commented nonchalantly before turning to his friend and levitating his pencil with his magic. "Shall we get to work, partner?"

"Let's do it!" Sketchy Shadow replied as she grabbed her pencil with her mouth.

They immediately got to work on solving the equation, making sure they didn't make any mistakes. Mylar was the first one to finish, both because he was a bit smarter than her and because his magic allowed him to write faster in comparison to Sketchy, who being a Pegasus had no other choice than to use her mouth, thus being a slower writer. He kept his pencil in the air as he reread everything he had written, making sure he did everything right. After seeing that he had been successful, he turned to his winged companion to tell her he was done, but as soon as his gaze fell upon her he remained silent.

She was still writing, about halfway done, and didn't notice he was staring at her. He had always admired how she was able to write and draw. She had trained herself to use her mouth to firmly grasp a pencil as she used it, and the results were astounding. She was able to draw amazing things, and he wondered if they would've looked even better if she had been born a unicorn.

Not only was he impressed by her skills, there was something else that made her look exceptional to him. As they grew he became fonder and fonder of her, somehow feeling she was more than just a friend. Truth be told, Sketchy had grown into a very attractive mare, and being the one who hung out with her the most, Mylar noticed it better than anypony else. There was no denying it; he was smitten.

"You're done already?"

He almost jumped out of his own skin when he heard those words and blushed furiously as he realized he had been staring at her for what seemed like hours. She had spat out her pencil and was raising a brow at him, confused by his odd reaction.

"Oh, y-yeah!" he chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I am."

"Gosh, I wish I was as fast as you." she sighed as she picked up her pencil again and continued writing.

Mylar let out a small sigh and rested his head on his hoof as he looked the other way. Did he really like her more than just a friend, or was his hormone-soaked brain playing tricks on him? And if he did like her that way, would he be able to tell her without messing up their friendship? A lot could go wrong, and the last thing he wanted was to ruin their companionship.

As the two ponies were distracted they didn't noticed two other ponies who were observing them two rows away.

"You see that?" the tallest one asked his friend.

"Oh yeah." the other one replied. They both snickered evilly as they kept watching Sketchy and Mylar.

* * *

Mylar licked his lips as he levitated his hayburger to his eye level. Sketchy had her lunchtime before him, so he had to eat alone. Normally she would hold a table for him until he arrived, but today was the day they both liked to call 'New Comic Book Day', and it was her turn to run to their usual comic book store and pick up the latest edition of the Power Ponies. She was probably there right now, and would return any minute.

Taking a good look at his lunch, he opened his mouth and slowly took the food towards his muzzle.

"Mylar! How's it going, buddy?"

He nearly dropped his burger when he felt somepony give him a strong pat on the back. Before he knew it there were two ponies around him, one on each side of him: a tall tan stallion with a brown mane and basketball hoop for a cutie mark on his right, and a pale-blue stallion with a long blond mane which covered his right eye and a wave for a cutie mark on his left. He looked up at the tan pony, who he knew was the one who had interrupted his lunch.

"Oh hi, Slam Dunk." Mylar muttered unenthusiastically. "What do you want?"

"What, can't a bro just drop by without a particular purpose in mind?"

"You always have a purpose in mind, Slam Dunk. Everypony knows that."

"He's gotcha there, dude." commented the blue pony in a thick surfer accent.

"Shut up, Wipeout." Slam Dunk threatened his friend through his gritted teeth before turning back to Mylar. "OK, fine, there is a reason why I'm here."

"I thought so." said Mylar before taking a bite out of his hayburger.

"And it's to tell you that…" he moved closer so his mouth was just inches away from the unicorn's ear. "…we know you're into Sketchy." he whispered.

Mylar choked on his food when he heard those words. He coughed a few times before he was able to levitate a glass of water up to his mouth and take a few sips.

"W-what?!" he exclaimed through his deep breaths.

"You heard me. We see the way you look at her, so there's point in denying it."

The white unicorn gulped as Slam Dunk gave him a toothy grin. There really was no point in denying it; if he did he would be lying, and if there was one thing Mylar wasn't was a liar. He was cornered.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, a hint of despair in his tone.

"Why does anypony blackmail anypony?" he inched even closer, now looking directly into his eyes. "We want favors."

"Lots of them!" Wipeout added enthusiastically.

"And you're just the pony to do them for us."

"W-why me?" Mylar stuttered, almost afraid of the answer.

"You're week. And you crack under pressure. You're perfect for the job."

He looked at the two stallions around him, feeling somewhat claustrophobic. He shivered at the thought of all the gruesome tasks they would make him do, but he didn't have another choice. A part of him wished he had been frank with Sketchy a long time ago. Maybe then he wouldn't be in this mess.

"Fine…" he sighed sadly, hanging his head in defeat.

"Good." Slam Dunk picked up Mylar's hayburger and bit into it. "First off… we want dirt."

"Excuse me?" Mylar looked up at him with a raised brow.

"Dirt. Bad things about your little sweetheart. And don't tell me she doesn't have any. Everypony has skeletons in their closets. Now, spill it."

He gulped again, feeling his heart sink. He was doomed.

* * *

Sketchy Shadow galloped towards college with all her might, a comic book under her left wing and a wide smile across her muzzle. She couldn't wait to tell Mylar the good news she had just heard.

As she entered the campus and rapidly headed towards the lunch area, she noticed Mylar with the two biggest jerks in Vanhoover University, Slam Dunk and Wipeout. Just the fact that they were sitting with him was unusual, but she ignored it and focused on the task at hoof.

"Myles! Myles, you will not believe what I just heard!" she exclaimed as she reached Mylar's table. Her smile died a bit when she noticed her friend looked absolutely unhappy, while the other two ponies seemed to be grinning mockingly at her. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Slam Dunk declared, sharing a chuckle with his shaggy friend.

"OK… Anyway…" she turned back to the white unicorn and set the comic book down on the table in front of him. "Here's your copy of the new Power Ponies issue." her bright smile returned wider than ever. "And I just got the best news! I ran into my aunt when I was walking out of the comic book store, and she told me my cousin Argonfire is having her cute-ceañera this weekend and that we're both invited. But that's not the best part!" she placed her hooves on the table and elevated herself closer to her friend. "Cheese Sandwich is throwing the party!"

Mylar involuntarily looked up at her and smiled, his eyes wide in wonder. He was about to comment what she had just said when he felt Slamdunk and Wipeout inch closer to him, looking down at him and smiling evilly. Mylar's ears drooped down and he looked down at his hind hooves under table.

"I... I can't go." he declared sadly, making Sketchy gasp loudly.

"What?! I can't believe you're gonna let this opportunity pass!" she grabbed his head and forced him to look her in the eyes. "We might just have a chance to meet Cheese Sandwich! The best party planner in all of Equestria!"

"He said he's not going." Slam Dunk pushed her away rudely and placed an arm around Mylar. "He's hanging with us now, and he doesn't have time for you or your stupid plans."

"Yeah right, like I'm gonna believe the biggest con artist in school." She looked over at Mylar, waiting for him to confirm what she had just said, but in return he just looked away from her. Sketchy's heart sunk. "Myles?"

"Like I said, he doesn't care about you or your friendship anymore." The tan stallion stated as he slapped away the comic book she had just brought. "And let's face it: he can do SO much better."

"Yeah, especially better than a Pegasus who's afraid of heights!" chuckled Wipeout.

Sketchy's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She looked over at Mylar, who was now looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"You told them?! How could you?!" she yelled out, her eyes tearing up. "You swore you would never tell anypony! What kind of friend are you?!" she turned around started walking away.

"Sketchy, wait!" Mylar called out, stretching a hoof in her direction.

"Forget it! I thought I could trust you, but you're just like everypony else! I never want to see you again!"

She broke into gallop, running out of the campus. Mylar kept looking at her, his mouth open as if to call her, deeply regretting what he had done. All that trouble just because he couldn't mutter three simple words to her? Now that he thought about, it sounded so stupid...

"Geez, what a drama queen!" commented Slam Dunk with a chuckle. "I still can't believe she's too afraid to fly! I mean, she IS a Pegasus! It's in her blood! What a wuss!"

"Stop it!" Mylar wacked away the other pony's arm from around his shoulders and glared angrily at him. "Sketchy's a wonderful filly! Just because she has one little flaw it doesn't mean she's all wrong!"

"Now Mylar, watch your mouth. Remember, we can spread your little secret anytime we want."

"Not anymore." He descended from his seat and started stomping away.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To be honest to my best friend."

He headed in the direction Sketchy went, leaving the two stallions completely clueless. The two were silent for a moment, until Slam Dunk looked down at the table and smiled to himself.

"Joke's on him, he left his lunch behind!" he picked up what was left of Mylar's lunch and started munching away.

* * *

Tears ran down Sketchy's cheeks as she replayed what had happened in her mind for the umpteenth time, gazing at the horizon through the fence. Of all the ponies she knew, Mylar was the last one she expected to do what he had done to her. He had been the only pony she had trusted in her life, and he broke that trust like it was nothing.

Moments in which they were the happiest together flashed before her eyes, and they only made her feel sadder. He was the only friend she had. How could have he just betrayed her like that? That wasn't the Mylar she knew. But still, why?

"I knew you'd be here."

She looked back and saw her old friend, glaring sympathetically at her. Of course he knew she was there. It was the place she always went when she was feeling down: the playground where they had first met.

"What are you doing here?" she mumbled, wiping away some tears from her eyes.

"I want to make things right."

"I think you've done enough. Just go away."

"But I – "

"No! There's nothing you can say that can take back what you did!" she shouted as she walked up to him, her expression one of pure anger and the tears still streaming down her face. "Ten years ago we made a pact in this exact spot to be best friends forever! Did that mean anything to you?!"

"Of course it did!"

"Well it doesn't seem like it! All I ever wanted was somepony I could trust, but I guess that's just too much to ask."

She walked past him without looking back, heading towards the exit. Mylar didn't know what to do to make her believe that he was sorry for what he had done, but he had to act fast. When finally an idea crossed his mind, he used his teleporting magic to make himself disappear from that place.

Sketchy heard him teleport away and looked back to confirm he was gone. Sighing sadly, she continued slowly walking away when suddenly he materialized himself in front of her, his lips firmly pressed against hers. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when she finally realized what was happening. After a few seconds he backed away, Sketchy remaining wide-eyed with her mouth slightly agape.

"I'm really sorry I did what I did, and I know I can't undo it, but I can at least explain myself." He declared, trying to find the right words. "I've been bottling up my feelings towards you for quite a while now, and today that backfired on me. I should've told you how I felt sooner. You're my best friend, Sketchy. And… I love you."

"Mylar…"

The unicorn cringed slightly at the mention of his name. Whenever she called him by his real name instead of just 'Myles' it wasn't a good sign. He closed his eyes and prepared himself for what was coming, whatever it might be.

"For such a smart pony, you can be a real dope."

His eyes shot open and he saw she was smiling mockingly at him. He didn't know what to make of that sentence or of her expression, but he had a slight clue.

"I… what?"

"You could've told me sooner! And if you had, you would've known that I feel the same way." She gave him a seductive look, which almost sent shivers down his spine.

"You… you do? Really?" he stammered, barely believing his ears.

"Does this answer your question?"

She closed the gap between them, locking her lips with his. He was surprised at first but quickly melted into the kiss, closing his eyes and taking his hoof to her cheek to pull her closer. This kiss lasted longer than the previous one, and when they parted they had to take a moment to breathe.

"Wow. Just… wow." Mylar commented, his head swimming. He glanced down at Sketchy, who looked a bit dazed with a wide goofy grin splattered across her muzzle. "You OK, there?"

"Mm-hmm…" she hummed in agreement, her eyes slightly crossed.

"You're so silly!" he chuckled as he gave her a friendly punch in the foreleg, snapping her out of her trance.

"Quiet, you!" she pushed him playfully and ran off giggling, Mylar following closely.

From that day a beautiful relationship blossomed, and everypony could see it. Both their parents were over the moon with the news, knowing that that moment had to come sooner or later. All their colleagues at Vanhoover University saw how happy they both were and were happy for them as well, except of course those who would constantly mock them, such as Slam Dunk and Wipeout. But they didn't care. As long as they had each other it was like a shield was protecting them from their insults.

As long as they had each other… everything was perfect.


End file.
